The Gardens of Bacchus
by SilverMoonGrimm
Summary: Reyna has always liked the Gardens of Bacchus. In fact, there's one spot in particular that she really appreciated . . .


**Hello! Just a little oneshot! Hope you enjoy! Tell me anything- praise, criticism, helpful suggestions- so that means REVIEW!**

**I personally support Leyna all the way, but the story is mostly just friendship.**

**The Gardens of Bacchus**

Reyna has always liked the Gardens of Bacchus. There was one spot in particular that she really appreciated. If you were to walk about seven minutes off the main walkway, you would reach a small tiled circle that approximately three people knew about. In the center of that small tiled circle, there is an old olive tree, planted even before the camp was founded. And under that tree, there was a rather unremarkable stone bench.

And that unremarkable stone bench was Reyna's absolute favorite spot in all of New Rome.

She was one of the very few who knew of the hideaway, which she fondly referred to as 'her spot', the others being elder centurions that had no interest in the old secluded area.

But Reyna knew better.

It was the most peaceful spot possible in the bustling city. The bench was shaded by the overhanging limbs from the large tree, and sometimes, in the fall, small olives grow from the branches in plentiful bunches.

Just for fun, once Reyna had tried one of the ripe olives and immediately regretted it, realizing just how bitter and tart they tasted before they are cured. After that, she experienced a strong aversion to the fruit.

Still, she spent hours sitting there; reading, resting, and even occasionally dragging her work assignments out.

But most of all, she dreamed, because even Praetors have something they still desire. She would dream about the time when Jason would finally notice her. A time when Octavian would quit pestering her. A time when she wouldn't wake up each morning with a stack of paperwork to complete.

Of course, that was all just dreams. But, still. Everyone one has something they look forward to.

Reyna had found the stone circle one day, when she was brand new to the city and was exploring. She found the bench and sat down, admiring how perfectly the evening sky was framed by the olive branches.

And then, suddenly, she watched the stream of light flash across the horizon. A shooting star. But what to wish for? She thought and thought, long past when the star disappeared, but couldn't decide on one single wish.

So the next day, she came back. And then the next day. But she still could never figure out what she most hoped for.

Recently, most of the ones she thought of seemed to revolve around Jason. Not that you could expect anything else of her, but now more recently than other times. Because Jason was coming back soon. It wasn't a scientific fact, but it had to be true, right?

A hero for a hero. That's how it worked. Percy for Jason. A Greek for a Roman. Simple as that.

Unfortunately it wasn't as 'simple as that'. No, because nothing in Reyna's life ever was. There was a quest to worry about. A quest of seven. And however much Reyna resented it, Jason was part of the seven.

And then _she_ came. They walked out of the battleship together, holding hands. The daughter of Venus- sorry, Aphrodite- had stolen Jason's heart and she couldn't do anything about it.

After they had left in a fit of fire (literally) she had retired to the small tiled circle to think and regret, but when she got there . . .

A rogue cannon had made its way farther from the city than any other, and left only half of the tree and precisely sixteen stone bench pieces in its wake.

She knew it was silly, but she couldn't help but feel broken. This was _her_ spot, the special place she could always think. She, foolishly, had relished the notion that maybe she still had that wish saved on file somewhere, and this was like a break of reality.

Percy Jackson and his friends had destroyed her home twice, now. And so, for a night, she let her fearless leader act fall and cried.

The next morning, she ignored the stack of complaints piling up on her desk and soundlessly walked to the market. There, she bought five rolls of duct tape before traveling back to the ancient tree and setting to work, fitting the bench back together like a puzzle, rolling out layer after layer of tape to secure it.

There, she thought. But it still wasn't the same, so she swept away the fallen limbs and smoldering leaves. Sighing, she decided it would have to do. Now, the rest of Rome was her priority.

~oOo~

Leo shuffled his way around the stone path. Normally, he would have been the life of the party down at the 'we-saved-the-world-so-we-get-to-party' celebration, but he really wasn't in the mood. No, because before they had vanquished Gaia once and for all, he had witnessed his mother being beaten by a titan that Percy had, for some reason, referred to as Bob. What was even worse was that it hadn't actually been necessary, she wasn't a demon Gaia called to avenge the gods.

So, you can probably guess, he really didn't feel like partying.

Anyways, Leo was stumbling down the path when he saw something reflecting the sun a ways away from the main road. Being the incredibly curious person he was, Leo strayed away from the path and walked towards it, hoping for a second that it might be some kind of leftover metal from somewhere. He could really use a lump of metal right now.

Unfortunately, it was not a lump of metal, he saw. It was some kind of bench made out of duct tape.

Leo cautiously sat, afraid it might break, but, fortunately, it was stable enough to hold him. Feeling the edges, he found that it was not entirely made of duct tape, just covered with the stuff. He bounced a bit, testing how sturdy it was, and was slightly displeased to find that it was barely held together.

So, naturally, he pulled a roll of the silver tape out of his handy-dandy tool belt and knelt in front of it, ready to get to work when-

~oOo~

"Oh!" Reyna couldn't stop the word from escaping, nor the look of surprise that flashed across her face, but she could prevent herself from lobbing the roll of tape she had been carrying at the boy's head.

She wasn't entirely sure why that was her first reaction until the boy looked up and she recognized him. It was Leo, the boy that had fired upon her city.

She demanded what he was doing here and he responded by joking that he didn't realize the place was so exclusive. She hadn't smiled, but instead asked why he wasn't celebrating with everyone else, softer this time.

He shrugged, admitting that he wasn't quite in the mood to celebrate.

So he scooted over a bit on the bench and patted the seat beside him.

"The sunset's even nicer from over here." He told her. Sunset? She turned to the horizon and saw that it, indeed, was sunset already.

She felt reminded of the first time she discovered the place. The sunsets were remarkably similar, if this one was not more extravagant, but she couldn't help but still feel uneasy about being with the boy.

Grudgingly, she shrugged it off. After all, he did save the world, did he not?

"Apollo's celebrating," she stated, lowering her weight onto the silver seat. Leo laughed.

"Should be! We whooped Gaia's-" Suddenly the bench, already a bit unstable with just Leo, crumbled from underneath them.

Reyna gasped in air and Leo groaned from beside her.

"butt. . . " He had finished. "Ugh. Shoulda fixed the bench before sitting on it, huh?" That was the first time in a long while that Reyna had allowed herself to laugh.

~oOo~

Reyna has always liked the Gardens of Bacchus. There was one spot in particular that she really appreciated. If you were to walk about seven minutes off the main walkway, you would reach a small tiled circle that approximately four people knew about. In the center of that small tiled circle, there was an old olive tree, planted even before the camp was founded. And under that tree, there was a rather unremarkable stone bench.

And that unremarkable stone bench was Reyna's absolute favorite spot in all of New Rome.

Because it was the place she and Leo shared.

It was no longer 'her spot', but now theirs.

And Reyna found herself wondering, again, what she would wish for from that small shooting star, and this time she had an answer.

She would want everything to stay just the way it is.

_fin_


End file.
